Tenders: a better way

The Single Point of Enquiry service has been introduced by the Scottish Government’s Procurement Directorate to provide suppliers to public sector/public funded bodies with an impartial point of contact where they can ask for advice or raise concerns about public procurement practices in Scotland. The SPoE is part of the Public Procurement Reform Programme, initiated in response to a review of public procurement in Scotland by John F McClelland CBE. The programme’s vision is the implementation of structures, capability and processes to provide continuous improvement in procurement across the Scottish public sector, in order to deliver value-for-money improvements and support increased efficiency.

The Single Point of Enquiry

Aims – To provide businesses with advice on procurement legislation and practices, to seek resolution of disputes regarding procurement practice and to help improve the consistency of public procurement processes applied by public and publicly funded bodies in Scotland.

Vision – To encourage and establish best practice in procurement within the Scottish public sector and publicly funded bodies by working with suppliers, the business community and purchasers to address issues of concern.

Values – To operate with impartiality, fairness and objectivity and promote a culture of openness and transparency in relation to procurement practice.

Suppliers’ issues should, in the first instance, be discussed with the contracting authority concerned, or the centre of expertise for the relevant sectors (central government, NHS, universities and colleges, and local authorities) to seek resolution or clarification at that level. If this route fails to produce satisfactory results the supplier can then contact the SPoE. Alternatively, suppliers may approach the SPoE, on a confidential basis, at any stage.

The SPoE is not a point of appeal on procurement decisions, nor will it seek to influence or change sourcing decisions made by a contracting authority. It complements the existing formal avenues of redress available, such as court proceedings or submitting a complaint to the European Commission. The SPoE will seek to work with the procuring authority and the centre of expertise concerned to bring about a positive outcome to supplier issues.

European Remedies Directive

The Scottish Government will also shortly be consulting on the implementation of a new European Remedies Directive.

The new directive (2007/66/EC) makes significant changes to the remedies available to tenderers. It introduces a new remedy of “ineffectiveness” for contracts which, contrary to EU procurement law, have not been advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) but have instead been awarded directly. It also provides for a harmonised standstill period between a contract award decision and the conclusion of the contract, to allow tenderers to challenge the contract award decision.